Deploying Windows 8.1 has
never been easier. There are so many great tools out there to help you
scale out the deployment. However, what if you need repeat this process
over and over for hundreds or maybe thousands of desktops? Well, that is
where Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 come in to help!
Whether you want to deploy to a physical machine or to a virtual
machine, both Windows Server and System Center offer new and improved
technologies to improve your ability to deploy Windows 8.1. In this
article, I am going to take a look at some of the key terminology
involved in successful deployments, as well as some of the deployment
methodologies.
Terminology
First, let’s learn some of the key terms and technologies involved:

•

Windows Imaging (WIM) File Format
– This is truly the hidden gem of Microsoft deployment technologies.
This is the file type that is used to deploy your Windows images. In
fact if you look at your Windows 8.1 file, you find two files
(install.wim and boot.wim) these files provide you the Windows 8.1 image
for setup and deployment. When you perform mass deployments in your
organizations with Microsoft technologies, you are essentially creating
your own .wim files that cannot your company’s version of Windows. What
makes this image so special is that it is hardware agnostic. Unlike
previous tools I have used, you do not need to have multiple .wim files
for the various types of hardware you have in your organization.

•

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) – This is one of the great FREE resources that has been around for years. Download the latest version, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013 for Windows 8.1 deployment.

•

Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
- WDS has been a built in Windows Server since Windows Server 2003. It
enables you to remotely deploy Windows operating systems, both desktops
and server installations. It has some new and changed functionality in
Windows Server 2012 R2 that you can learn about by reading What's New in Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2012 R2.

•

System Preparation (Sysprep)
– This tool has also been around for years and is designed to take any
already deployed Windows image and prepare it to be captured and applied
to other PCs. It makes the system you run it on “generic”. It removes
PC-specific information from the Windows image, including the PC’s
security identifier (SID), and generalizes it. Learn more about this
tool in Capture an Image for Deployment (Generalize).

•

Lite Touch deployment
– Lite Touch deployment is a deployment methodology where the
administrator has to perform some action on the systems to which you are
deploying Windows Server. This may be as simple as starting a PXE boot,
loading a DVD, or stepping through the installation wizard. This is
sometimes referred to as a pull deployment.

•

Zero Touch deployment
– This an automated deployment method where the administrator can
essentially force the installation to the targeted systems. This is
sometimes known as a push deployment.

So how do the pieces of the
puzzle come together? The answer is my favorite answer of all time, “It
depends.” You really have to decide what your goals for deployment are.
Do you know how many systems you are looking to deploy? Is it 1 desktop
or 10,000 desktops? And so on. With any deployment methodology, you
basically take the custom WIM file that you created and deploy it using
one of a variety of methods. Depending on what you are looking to do,
there are three approaches you could take for your deployment project:

•

Create a centralized location for installation files

•

Lite Touch deployment

•

Zero Touch deployment

Centralized Installation Files
If you are looking to store
your source files in just one location then this is exactly what WDS
provides out of the box. All deployment methods involve centralized
installation files; however, with no customization in WDS, in a sense
you are just putting the Windows 8.1 DVD on a share.

Lite Touch Deployment
If you’re looking to have a
little more customization in your deployments, Lite Touch deployment may
be right for you. Maybe you want to configure Windows 8.1 in a
predetermined way or maybe you want to install applications like Office
2013, or drivers, or language packages, the list goes on. This is where
the marriage of WDS and MDT becomes a wonderful relationship for you and
your deployment. As mentioned above, MDT allows you to make your own
customized WIM images for deployment. It can also combine the various
components (operating system, applications, and drivers) into one task
sequence that makes it easy to deploy. It can then leverage WDS’ ability
to use PXE boot (network boot), and deliver your components across your
network. Lite Touch is not limited to just network deployment. MDT can
create ISO images and, bootable USB files to truly provide a flexible
delivery method for your clients. It is called Lite Touch because you
will need to start the process of deployment from the client systems.
What makes this nice is that all the tools for this deployment method
are free. Want to learn about Lite Touch Deployment? See Windows 8 Deployment Strategies: Lite-Touch, High-Volume Deployment.

Zero Touch Deployment
Lastly, if you want to take
both deployment and management to the next level, you will want to use
System Center 2012. This deployment option provides you with fully
automated deployment without any interaction from you as the
administrator. However, unlike the previous methods, it is not totally
free. While it can leverage WDS, Sysprep, and MDT, Zero Touch deployment
also leverages the power of System Center, specifically System Center
Configuration Manager. This provides the most scalable method for
deployment and while it can get very involved, it is extremely powerful.
You can learn more about Zero Touch Deployment in Windows 8 Deployment Strategies: Zero-Touch, High-Volume Deployment.

As you can see, Windows 8.1
deployment options increase with Windows Server 2012 R2 and System
Center 2012 R2, both of which provide you with the flexibility to
successfully deploy Windows 8.1 for your organization. If you have not
had a chance to test Windows Server 2012 R2 or System Center 2012 R2,
download the System Center 2012 R2 Evaluation and the
Windows Server 2012 R2 Evaluation.

Matt
Hester is a skilled and experienced IT professional evangelist for
Microsoft and has been involved in the IT pro community for over 15
years. He has presented at local and international events and has
written articles for TechNet Magazine. Prior to joining Microsoft Matt
was a highly successful Microsoft Certified Trainer for over eight
years. Check out his latest insights on his blog.